Brumby visits bushfire ravaged town

Posted
February 10, 2009 18:58:00

Victorian Premier John Brumby has promised that the Royal Commission into the bushfires will carry out an exhaustive examination of every aspect of the disaster. Despite advances in fire fighting techniques, nothing was able to stop Saturday's firestorm. Some experts are arguing that it is now time for a fundamental reassessment of the nation's whole approach to fire management.

MARK COLVIN: Victorian authorities are beginning let people back into fire affected areas in the Beechworth Ovens region.

In Mudgegonga two people died trying to save their home. Today, the Victorian Premier released details of more suspected deaths in the State.

Rachael Brown followed him into the devastated town. Rachael joins us now. Can you describe what you saw as you drove in?

RACHAEL BROWN: It was the saddest thing I've seen here in my time here in the last couple of days. Unforgettable, in all the wrong ways.

We drove in and everyone fell silent. There were black paddocks on both sides as far as the eye could see; smouldering trees stumps. As we got deeper into the community there was razed houses. I only saw two that were standing, messes of twisted metal, corrugated iron, many houses with only chimney stumps standing but most didn't even have that.

There were burnt cows with singed hides, a dead bull, dead kangaroos lying by the road side. I saw a dead, sorry a burnt out car under a tree with almost ghost like dead limbs and a burnt out seesaw which brought it home most for me because it was a telling sign of the fun that will no doubt take a hell of a long time to return to this community.

And one of the local fire-fighters here said to me that people will need counselling. Most listeners might think, well, that's a no-brainer, but coming from a man of the bush where the philosophy is usually she'll be right, that was a very telling comment.

MARK COLVIN: Yeah, people do tend to try and tough it out quite often but this has been so devastating.

John Brumby, you were with him. I understand he's been talking about how the death toll is going up.

RACHAEL BROWN: He did. When we spoke to John Brumby this afternoon, the official death toll, the confirmed toll was about 173. But as he explained, there will be plenty more because these numbers aren't released until bodies have received identification because as John Brumby said, everyone, everybody is someone's mother or father or daughter or brother. So he explained how the toll was calculated and how many more may be out there.

JOHN BRUMBY: When you see these areas from the air, it's just a sickening feeling. You just, particularly Kinglake and Marysville, as I was yesterday, there's just hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of houses just completely obliterated.

And so the toll will continue to rise. So there are still a large number of people in excess of 50 who are unconfirmed and essentially these are people who the Coroner believes already deceased but are not yet identified. So this is going to be a significant number. It will exceed 200 deaths.

MARK COLVIN: The Victorian Premier John Brumby.

Was he the only visitor to Mudgegonga today?

RACHAEL BROWN: As John Brumby left, a black car pulled up and four, five police officers got out and went into the local CFA (Country Fire Association) station, I'm guessing as part of their research that Vic Pol are concentrating on quite heavily at the moment to try to find the cause of the fires and who was behind it. So the police made a visit today to try to get some statements...

MARK COLVIN: We'll be hearing in just a moment a bit more about the search for arsonists for instance. Does the Premier think people will come back to these areas?

RACHAEL BROWN: We put that to him. He seemed to have more confidence than I expected. He did say that many would have scars, dealing with such awful atrocities over the past couple of days. He said he's spoken to people from Whittlesea and Alexandra that have said to him that they will come back. But he did say that of course he understands some mightn't be able to bring themselves to.

JOHN BRUMBY: This'll be a matter for individual families. And some just won't want to go back there because it will remind them of the tragic events of the last weekend. Others may well have spent their whole life and grown up in the area and all of the good memories that they've got of that area outweigh the last weekend and they want to return because that's where their links are, that's where their roots are. So it's a case by case thing.

MARK COLVIN: Victorian Premier John Brumby.

Rachael Brown, finally, I know that the fires in that area where you are, are still burning in some places. How badly and how likely that they'll soon be able to get them under control?

RACHAEL BROWN: Thankfully for this community in that respect the news is good. The news I've been hearing all day today is they're hoping to have containment lines strengthened and all in place by the end of tomorrow.

It is still burning and it's been described as a moderate burn so not as bad as it's been over the past couple of days. It has gone into pine plantation in the past and destroyed 20,000 hectares of pine plantations. But at the moment there's no spotting in there as far as I'm aware.

So the conditions are good at the moment. Winds haven't picked up this afternoon as far as I'm aware; low temperatures so fire crews have really been able to make good progress on this fire.

MARK COLVIN: Rachael Brown, good news, at least a little bit of good news there to finish with. Thank you very much.